/^-  d 


S  ALUMNI  LIBRARY,  f 

*  -  ■  # 

I    THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  | 

*  ■*> 

S*  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  * 

V         liooh.  i) 


>*0- 


/         ^  i?> 


^ 


DISCOURSE, 


DELivEntn 


'oliii  ]jrccl<inri( 


r~  . 


IN   THE    CHAPEL    OP    NASSAUHALL^ 


r.EFonr.    the 


OF 

MTEW-JERSSY, 

AT  ITS  FIRST  AAZYL^IL  .MEETIJVG,    SEPTEMBER  27,    1825. 


y 


BY    SAMUEL    MILLER,    D.  D. 

Pvofessor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Theological 

Seminary  at  Princeton,    and  Corresponding  Secretary  of 

the  said  Sociefu, 


MAXUS    DESU.NT    POSCE.NTIBLS    ARVIS. 


Princeton   ^vtSB:  / 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  SOCIE  lY,  BY  D.  A.  BORREXSTEIN.    '' 

1825. 

V 


iiltujrnn  Ktii 


•*. 


eXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES  OF    "  (EiXt   JLxUVtlV^    clUtK 

l^ftnosoiJiifcal  Societg  of  HeU)  Srrsrg,"  at  their 

FIRST  ANNUAL  MEETING  IN  THE  COLLEGE  CHAPEL,   AT 
PRINCETON,  SEPTEMBER  27,  1823. 

"RESOLVED^  UJVAjXLMOUSLY, 

"  That  the  thanks  of  this  So- 
ciety be  given  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller, /or  his  able  and  elo- 
quent Address^  delivered  tlm  day,  and  that  a  copy  be  requested 
far  puhlication.^^ 

-^RESOLVED, 

"  That  the  Recording  Secretary  communicate  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  the  above  Resolution.^^ 

LUTHER  HALSEY,  Rec.  Sec. 


When    this  Discourse   was  delivered,    it    was 
prefaced  with  the  following  statement. 

"It  is  well  known  to  all  present,  that  the  venerable  and 
honoured  President  of  our  Society  was  appointed,  and  ful- 
ly expected  to  perform  this  service.  They  will  all,  no 
doubt,  regret,  with  me,  that  he  found  himself  unable  to 
fulfil  his  appointment;  and  that  we  c^innot  on  the  present 
occasion  be  instructed  by  his  learning,  wisdom  and  experi- 
ence. It  was  not  until  Tuesday  last  that  the  least  hint  was 
given  to  me  that  I  should  be  requested  to  appear  as  the  sub- 
stitute of  that  distinguished  Individual.  And,  unfortunate- 
ly, during  the  greater  part  of  these  five  days,  my  time  has 
been  laboriously  occupied  with  other  and  indispensable  en- 
gagements of  an  official  kind.  In  these  circumstances,  I 
am  aware  that,  in  venturing  to  comply  with  the  request  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  I  lay  myself  open  to  the  charge 
of  indiscretion,  if  not  of  temerity.  If  such  should  be  the 
impression  of  my  hearers,  I  trust  they  will  find  an  apolo- 
gy for  me  in  my  ardent  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  our  Socie- 
ty ;  and  my  earnest  wish  to  avoid  the  pain  of  a  total  dis- 
appointment in  the  very  first  effort  to  introduce  it  to  the 
notice  of  the  publick." 


MR.    PRESIDENT,    AND 

GENTLEMEN    OF    THE    SOCIETY, 

We  are  assembled,  in  this  venerated  Edifice, 
and  on  this  interesting  eve  of  our  Academick  Ju- 
bilee, to  celebrate  the  first  anniversary  of  "  the  lit- 
erary AND   PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY  OF  NEW-JERSEY." 

Our  commencement  is,  indeed,  humble  and 
unpretending.  We  are  conscious  that  it  becomes 
us  not  to  vie  with  the  large  and  mature  Institutions 
of  a  similar  kind,  which  have  been  long  and  use- 
fully established  in  several  of  our  sister-  States  ; 
to  say  nothing  of  the  still  older  and  more  splendid 
establishments  beyond  the  Atlantick.  But,  however 
deficient  in  magnitude  and  splendour  in  the  outset, 
we  are  taught,  from  the  highest  of  all  authority, 
not  to  ''despise  the  day  of  small  things."  We 
f 


[     6     ] 

trust  we  shall  grow;  and  that  our  growth,  if  not 
rapid,  will  be  solid  and  useful  in  its  character; 
and  that  we  may,  long  hence,  be  able  to  look  back 
upon  this  day  with  mutual  gratulations,  and  with 
unmingled  satisfaction. 

■       The  declared    objects  of   our   Society,    as   set 
forth  in   its  Constitution,  are,  "the  promotion  of 

USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE,  AND  THE  FRIENDLY  AND  PROFIT- 
ABLE  INTERCOURSE   OF  THE  LITERARY  AND    SCIENTIFICK 

GENTLEMEN  OF  NEW-JERSEY."  Wc  are  pcrsuadcd 
that  so  far  as  we  shall  be  enabled  to  promote  the 
interests  of  literature  and  science,  we  shall  con- 
tribute to  the  real  honour  and  welfare  of  the  State. 
And  we  have  no  doubt  that  one  of  the  most  pro- 
bable means  of  advancing  the  great  cause  of  use- 
ful knowledge,  will  be  to  promote  mutual  acquaint- 
ance, union,  and  co-operation  among  those  who 
love  that  cause,  and  are  qualified  to  be  its  bene- 
factors. 

The  social  principle  pervades  all  the  rational 
enjoyments,  and  all  the  best  interests  of  our  species. 
"  It  is  not  good,"  in  any  sense,  "that  man  should 
l)e  alone."  And,  certainly,  in  the  pursuits,  the 
pleasures,  and  the  emoluments  of  literature  and 
science,  he  can  as  little  afford  to  stand  aloof  from 
his  fellow-men,  and  to  cherish  the  spirit  of  a  soli- 
tary being,  as  in  any  department  of  human  activity. 

.4* 


[     1     ] 

In  gathering  and  using  the  products  of  the  soil,  or 
in  seeking  the  means  of  sensual  gratification  in 
any  way,  man  may  riot,  if  he  will,  as  a  mere 
animal,  in  ignoble  solitude.  Yet  even  this,  is 
considered,  by  all  whose  opinion  is  valuable,  as 
degrading  to  himself.  But  in  the  empire  of  know- 
ledge, men  can  neither  inquire  nor  execute  to  the 
highest  advantage,  except  in  union  and  concert. 
Hence  the  old,  and  generally  received  remark, 
that,  in  all  ages  and  countries,  great  men  have 
commonly  arisen  in  clusters.  Not  only  because 
great  occasiojis  have  seldom  failed,  in  the  ordering 
of  Providence,  to  become  the  means  of  bringing  for- 
ward and  forming  distinguished  agents  for  the  im- 
portant ^york  which,  at  once,  demanded  and  trained 
them  ;  but  also  because,  in  coming  forth,  and  in  per- 
forming their  respective  tasks,  they  mutually  aided, 
excited,  and  elevated  each  other.  / 

Hence  it  was,  no  doubt,  that,  in  all  ages,  ante- 
rior to  the  discovery  of  the  art  of  Printing  ;  espe- 
cially in  the  best  periods  of  Grecian  and  Roman 
literature,  it  was  a  constant  practice  of  those  who 
had  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  to  travel  as  extensively 
as  possible  into  foreign  countries,  and  to  converse 
and  dispute  with  all  the  great  men  with  whom  they 
could  come  in  contact.  This  was  regarded  in  those 
early  times,  not  merely  as  a  luxury,  annexed  to 
wealth,  to  be  enjoyed  after  the  body  of  the  educa- 


r.  «  J 

lion  had  been  completed ;  or  as  a  matter  of  personal 
vanity,  or  curiosity ;  as  is  generally  the  prompting 
motive  of  modern  travel ;  but  as  a  primary  and  es- 
sential part  of  education  itself;  as  the  best  means  of 
enlarging  and  invigorating  the  mind,   and  of  stor* 
iiig  it  with  various,  profound   and  practical  know- 
ledge.    In  this  way  Lycurgus,  and  Solon,  and  He- 
rodotus,   and  Plato,    and  Aristotle.,    and  Polybius, 
and  Xenohpon,  and  Diodonis,  and  the  long  cata- 
logue of  ancient  legislators,   philosophers,  and  his- 
torians, whose  names  we  are  accustomed  to  pro- 
nounce with  veneration,   made  a  large  part,   and, 
perhaps,  the  most  precious  part  of  their  acquire- 
ments.     I   say  the    most    precious   part;    because 
there  is  a  vivida  vis  animi — an   undeiinable  sub- 
stance, power,  and  adhesiveness  in  that  which  we 
acquire  from  the  lips  of  the  living  teacher,  or  com- 
panion, or  rival,  not  conunonly  belonging  to  that 
which  is  gathered  from  books  only.     Accordingly, 
the  learned  retreats  of  the  pagan  priests,  and  the 
Academick  Groves,  and  Porches,  in  which  some  of 
those   distinguished   men,    and   their   disciples   and 
admirers  were  wont  to  assemble,  to  lecture,  to  con- 
verse, and  to  hold  their  publick  disputations,  were 
perhaps,   the   mightiest  engines    that   ever  existed 
for  exciting  the  human  mind ;    for  raising  it  to  its 
highest  eflforts ;    and  thereby  enabling  it  to  embody 
ideas,  to  apply  truth,   and   to  multiply  associations, 
more  powerfully,  more  rapidly,  and  more  happily 


[     9    ] 

than    we    can    expect   to   be  attained    by   solitary 
study. 

We  are  sometimes  ready  to  lament  that  those 
great  Master  Spirits,  from  the  circumstance  of 
their  living  only  in  manuscript  times,  had  so  few 
books,  and  could  have  so  few.  But  is  there  solid 
reason  for  this  lamentation  ?  Were  not  their  intel- 
lectual powers  more  thoroughly  disciplined,  and 
their  knowledge  better  digested  and  more  practi- 
cal, than  we  are  wont  to  find  among  those  who 
study,  even  diligently,  upon  the  modern  plan; — 
surrounded  with  ample  Libraries,  and  furnished 
with  all  the  facilities  which  our  literary  wealth  and 
luxury  have  provided,  for  promoting  the  effemina- 
cy, rather  than  the  vigour,  of  the  modern  man  ? 

Dr.  FranJdin  once  told  a  friend,  that  some  of 
his  most  original  thoughts  were  suggested  by  the 
collision  of  conversation  ;  and  that,  too^  very  often 
upon  subjects  foreign  to  those  on  which  he  was 
conversing.  And  Mr.  Fox,  the  far-famed  parlia- 
mentary orator,  declared  in  the  British  House  of 
Commons,  that  he  had  learned  more  from  Mr. 
Burkeh  conversation,  than  from  all  the  books  he 
had  ever  read  in  his  life.* 

*  Rush's  Intro(]uctory  Lecturcg,  p.  349- 


[    10     ] 

And  as  the  circumstances  in  which  the  ancient 
votaries  of  knowledge  were  placed,  had  a  peculiar- 
ly powerful  tendency  to  excite,  to  strengthen,  and 
to  enrich  their  minds,  and,  of  course,  to  mature 
their  works;  so  it  is  evident  that  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  compelled  to  publish  these  works, 
when  executed,  had  no  small  influence  in  impart- 
ing that  high  finish  which  is  calculated  to  insure 
lasting  popularity.  It  is  universally  known,  that 
they  were  publickly  recited,  at  the  Olympick 
Games,  at  the  most  frequented  Baths,  and  at  other 
places  where  crowds  were  assembled,  and  where 
impartial  criticism  could  not  fail  to  bear  a  sover- 
eign sway.  In  undergoing  this  ordeal,  when,  as 
the  Satyrist   tells  us — 

"  Frontonis  platani,  convulsaque  marmora  clamant 
Semper,    et  assiduo  ruptae  lectoi-e  columnae  j" — Juv. 

who  does  not  see  that  the  literary  aspirant  was 
favoured,  at  once,  with  stimulants  to  intellectual 
effort,  and  with  means  of  correcting  his  works  by 
the  publick  taste,  which  writers  of  the  present  day 
cannot  enjoy  ? 

No  wonder,  then,   that  the  plan  of  promoting 
letters  and  science  by  means  of  permanent  Associa- 
tions was  early  formed.     Aa;p«ii»glyi(  when  liter- 
'  aturo    had    a   small  and    temporary  revival    under 
Charlcmasne,    we  read   of  a    Society   of  learned 


[  11  ] 

men,  who  associated  under  the  auspices  of  that  ^ 
celebrated  Monarch,  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
each  other,  and  of  promoting  useful  knowledge. 
This  is,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  the  first  Society 
of  the  kind  on  record.  The  plan,  however,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  rude  and  defective,  and  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  carried  into  execution,  of 
small  practical  utility.  After  this  effort,  we  hear 
of  little  more  of  the  same  nature  until  the  six- 
teenth century,  when  several  literary  and  scienti- 
fick  Societies  were  formed  in  Italy.  Still,  how- 
ever, they  seem  to  have  been,  in  their  plan  and 
their  influence,  much  inferiour  to  many  which  have 
flourished  since.  The  most  enlarged  ideas  of 
such  associations  appear  to  have  originated  with 
Lord  Chancellor  Bacon,  who,  in  his  New  Atalan- 
tiSj  delineated  a  plan  of  such  an  institution  more 
liberal,  extensive  and  enlightened  than  had  been 
ever  before  proposed.  His  project,  indeed,  receiv- 
ed little  encouragement  from  his  contemporaries ; 
but  it  was  destined  to  produce  very  important  ef- 
fects not  long  afterwards. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  such  Societies,  and  a  taste  for 
forming  them,  may  be  said  to  have  commenced 
their  prevalence,  and  to  have  made  a  general  im- 
pression on  the  literary  world.  It  was  a  little  af- 
ter the  middle  of  that  century  that  the  two  most  con- 


[     12     ] 

/  spicuous  Associations  of  the  kind  in  Europe^  name- 
ly, the  "  Rojal  Society,"  of  England,  and  the 
"  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,"  of  France,  were 
formed :  the  former  by  Mr.  Boyle,  Bishop  WU- 
kins,  Mr.  Hooke,  and  a  number  of  others,  who, 
at  that  time,  held  a  high  station  in  the  philosophi- 
cal world  ; — and  the  latter  by  Louis  XIV,  prompt- 
ed by  the  suggestion,  and  assisted  by  the  counsels 
of  his  minister,  M.  Colbert,  Those  who  have  ex- 
amined the  numerous  volumes  which  contain  the 
transactions  of  these  celebrated  Societies,  cannot 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  believe,  that  they  have 
contributed  in  a  very  im})ortant  degree  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  useful  knowledge,  not  only  in  Great- 
Britain,  and  France,  but  throughout  the  world. 

But  the  eighteenth  century  is  pre-eminently 
remarkable  for  multiplying  these  Associations;  for 
a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  their  publica- 
tions ;  and  for  their  unexampled  activity  and  use- 
fulness in  the  cause  of  science.  And  after  the 
most  ample  experience  we  are  warranted  in  saying, 
that  they  have  exerted,  and  continue  to  exert,  an 
mfluence  eminently  beneficial  to  the  interests  of 
liberal  knowledge.  They  have  made  learned  men 
better  acquainted  with  each  other.  They  have 
kindled  a  spirit  of  generous  emulation  among  the 
votaries  of  science.  They  have  stimulated  into 
action  many  usefnl  talents,  by  holding  out  suitable 


.[     13    ]  -^ 

encouragements  to  exertioji.  They  have  sujjgest- 
ed  objects  of  inquiry,  and  methods  of  experiment, 
which  might  otherwise  have  escaped  attention. 
They  have  operated  like  happily  adjusted  lenses,  to 
converge  the  rays  of  light  to  one  focus,  there  to 
produce  genial  warmth,  motion,  and  life,  where  all 
was  cold  and  dead  before.  They  have  also  furnish- 
ed useful  repositories  for  the  observations  and  dis- 
coveries of  the  ingenious,  and  have  thus  presented 
to  the  world  many  valuable  procuctions,  which 
would  probably  other\vise  have  been  lost,  through 
the  modesty,  the  indolence,  or  the  poverty  of  their 
authors.  These  associations,  moreover,  by  extend- 
ing their  literary  invitations  and  honours  to  other 
countries,  bind  more  closely  together  the  members 
of  the  republick  of  letters  in  different  quarters  of 
the  globe,  and  teach  them  to  feel  as  brethren  em- 
barked in  the  same  great  cause.  It  would  not  be 
difficult,  I  ,am  persuaded,  to  show,  that  such  confe- 
derations of  learned  men  have  had  a  very  percept- 
ible influence  in  promoting  even  national  prosperity 
and  greatness,  and  in  widely  extending  a  spirit  of 
general  improvement. 

The  number  of  Societies  of  this  kind  in  the 
United  States,  though  compartively  small,  are  well 
worthy  of  notice  and  imitation.  The  first  in  or- 
der, both  with  regard  to  time  and  importance,  is 
''The  American  Philosophical   Society,    held    at 


[  14  ] 

Philadelphia,  for  promoting  Useful  Knowledge." 
It  was  formed,  in  the  jcar  1769,  by  the  union  of 
two  smaller  societies,  which  had  for  some  time 
existed  in  that  city ;  and  has  been  ever  since  con- 
tinued in  useful  and  respectable  operation.  Of 
this  Society,  Dr.  Franklin  was  the  most  conspicu- 
ous and  active  founder,  assisted  by  Dr.  Riiicnhouse, 
then  entering  on  his  illustrious  course,  the  Rever- 
end Drs.  Ewing  and  Smith,  and  a  number  of  other 
friends  of  liberal  knowledge,  whose  names  have 
secured  an  imperishable  record  in  the  history  of 
American  literature.  The  Volumes  of  Transactions 
which  this  Society  has  published,  are  too  well  known 
to  require  commendation  here.  Some  of  the  As- 
tronomical Papers  contained  in  the  first  volume  of 
those  Transactions,  served,  it  is  well  ascertained, 
at  that  early  day,  in  connection  with  the  experi- 
ments on  Electricity,  by  Franklin,  to  make  a  most 
respectful  impression  throughout  Europe,  with  re- 
gard to  the  native  genius  and  science  of  our 
country. 

"  The  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences," 
held  at  Boston,  was  established  in  1780.  It  has 
published  several  volumes  of  Communications, 
which  afford  a  very  honourable  specimen  of  the 
talents,  learning  and  diligence  of  its  members,  and 
a  pledge  of  still  greater  usefulness  in  future. 
\j'  The  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences," 


[     15    ] 

\ 

formed  dX  New-Haven,  in  1799;  and  "  The  Lit- 
erary and  Philosophical  Society  of  New-York," 
founded  in  1814,  have  also  entered  on  a  career, 
which  bids  fair  to  be,  at  once,  reputable  to  them- 
selves, and  beneficial  to  our  country.  A  few  other 
Associations  of  a  similar  kind,  but  on  a  smaller 
scale,  and  of  less  celebrity,  have  arisen  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  United  States;  and  ought  to  op- 
rate  as  a  stimulus  to  us,  and  as  examples  of  how 
much,  even  with  smaller  means  than  we  possess, 
an  enlightened   zeal  can  effect.  /^ 

In  this  generous  and  noble  competition,  the 
State  of  New -Jersey  has  not  yet  advanced  to  take 
her  place,  it  is  matter  of  some  surprize,  and  of 
no  small  regret,  to  those  who  have  attended  to 
the  history  of  our  State,  that  we  have  not  made 
greater  progress  in  literature  and  science.  The 
colonial  annals  of  New-Jersey,  furnish  a  con- 
siderable list  of  men,  who  flourished  eighty  or 
ninety  years  ago ; — men  of  powerful,  cultivated, 
and  active  minds  ; — men  who  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, from  their  talents  and  acquirements  to 
have  left  more  ample  memorials  of  their  own  cha- 
racters ;  and  to  have  diffused,  by  their  example, 
more  of  a  spirit  of  literary  enterprize  on  the  suc- 
ceeding generation.  But  for  want  of  union,  ex- 
citement, and  co-operation  among  themselves; — 
that  very  union  and   co-operation  which  we  now 


[     16    ] 

propose; — their  efforts  were  detached,  feeble,  and, 
in  a  great  measure,  useless ;  their  reputation  was 
much  more  circumscribed  than  it  deserved  to  be  ; 
and  names  which  ought  still  to  live  in  the  me- 
mories of  all  who  respect  talent  and  worth,  have 
cither  sunk  into  oblivion,  or  are  clierished  only  in 
the  recollection  of  a  few,  who  have  had  curiosity 
enough  to  explore  the  neglected  and  mouldering 
records  of  departed  eminence. 

Nor  are  our  predecessors  alone  chargeable  \^'ith 
delinquency  here.  Even  since  we  have  become 
an  independent  State,  though  the  nundier  of  our 
educated  citizens  has  considerably  increased ; — 
yet  no  measures  have  been  hitherto  taken  to  make 
them  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  to  bind  them 
together  in  one  common  brotherhood ;  and,  of 
course,  this  corps,  respectable  as  it  undoubtedly  is, 
on  the  score  of  number,  has  remained  to  this  time 
without  any  kind  of  organization,  and  consequent- 
ly, without  that  efficiency  which  union  alone  can 
give.     And  yet,  it  is  but  truth  to  say,  that  we  stand 

in    PECULIAR    NEED    of  SUch   STEClAL    MEASURES   for 

uniting  and  binding  us  together  as  those  of  which 
I  have  been  speaking.  For  we  have,  certainly, 
fewer  of  what  may  be  called  the  natuual  means 
of  promoting  this  object  than  many  of  our  sister 
States.  We  have  no  great  cities,  which  it  seems 
to  be  generally    and  justly  agreed,    furnish  so.ne 


[     17     ] 

of  the  most  indispensable  and  powerful  means  of 
exciting,  keeping  in  a  state  of  tension,   and  putting 
in  requisition,  all  the  powers  of  man;  which  more 
constantly  attract,  employ  and  reward  talents,  than 
the  less  dense  forms  of  population  can  possibly  do ; 
and  which  have  always  been   the  great  fokcing 
BEDS,  if  I  may  so  ex()ress  it,  not  only  of  the  foli- 
age and  flowers,  but  also  of  the  solid  and  invalua- 
ble fruits  of  genius.     We  have  none  of  those  splen- 
did COLLECTIONS    OF  APPARATUS  and  of  SPECIMENS, 

for    promoting    the     compendious    acquisition    of 
knowledge,    the  formation    of  which  pre-supposes 
a  considerable  share  both  of  enterprize  and  wealth  ; 
and    which  seldom    exist,    to    any   extent,   out  of 
large  and  opulent  cities.     We  have  none  of  those 
GREAT  LIBRARIES,  which,   in  Other  countries,  and 
in  some  of  our  sister  States,  publick   liberality  has 
opened  for  publick  use.     We  have,  indeed,   some 
Libraries  of  great  value,   and  which  promise  much 
as  to  future  enlargement ;  but  their  use  is  necessari- 
ly confined  to  the  members  of  those  Institutions  to 
which  they  belong  ;  and  cannot,   without  a  breach 
of  trust,  be  made  centres  of  general  attraction  to  the 
literary  population   of   the   State.      And,    to   omit 
other  particulars,   we  have  few  instances  of  those 
very  large   private    estates,    which   are  numer- 
ous in  other  parts  of  our  country,  and  which  have 
frequently  furnished  endowments  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent character  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge. 

B 


[     18     ] 

Seeing,  then,  that  we  labour  under  a  deficien- 
cy as  to  the  various  resources  which  have  been 
mentioned, — w^e  must,  if  we  desire  to  excite  in  our 
State  a  new  spirit  of  improvement  in  literature 
and  science— we  must,  of  necessity,  resort  to  some 
of  those  means  which  are  certainly  and  always 
within  our  reach,  and  which  experience  has  shown 
to  have  a  powerful  influence  in  stirring  up  the 
minds,  and  enlarging  the  views  of  men.  It  has 
pleased  *'  Him  who  sits  as  Governor  among  the 
nations,"  to  pour  out  upon  almost  every  part  of 
our  beloved  Country,  a  spirit  of  "Internal  Im- 
provement," as  extensive  and  powerful,  as  it  is 
gratifying  to  every  patriotick  mind.  And  even  in 
our  own  State,  hitherto,  undoubtedly,  chargeable 
with  tardiness  in  the  carreer  of  great  enterprizes, 
it  is  delightful  to  perceive  the  influence  of  this 
spirit  extending  itself  in  every  direction.  While 
we  rejoice  in  this  honourable  impulse,  and  with 
every  voice  and  hand  cheer  it  on ;  let  us  remem- 
ber that  there  is  an  "  internal  improvement"  of 
the  INTELLECTUAL  and  MORAL  kind,  in  which  we 
all, — whether  Statesmen,  Scholars,  Patriots,  or 
Christians,  have  an  infinitely  deeper  interest,  than 
in  all  the  Canals,  the  Railways^  and  the  various 
other  monuments  of  physical  power  and  expendi- 
ture, which  the  ingenuity  of  man  ever  formed. 
And,  though  we  may  not  be  able  to  vie  with  some 
of  our  neighbours  in  tlieir  other  magnificent  and 


[     19    ] 

splendid  works  ;  yet  here  we  may  enter  the  lists 
of  honourable  rivalship  with  the  best  of  them. 
We  undoubtedly  have,  if  you  will  allow  me  the 
expression,  an  abundance  of  the  raw  materials  for 
truly  respectable  fabricks  of  mental  and  moral  en- 
terprize :  and  to  erect  them,  with  honour  and  pro- 
fit to  ourselves,  and  with  rich  advantage  to  our 
State,  we  have,  humanly  speaking,  only  to  will 
IT. — Though  we  cannot  be  greatly  distinguished, 
as  a  State,  for  the  extent  of  our  Commerce ;  and 
though  large  districts  of  our  territory  are  by  no 
means  friendly  to  the  highest  success  in  Agricul- 
lure;  yet  in  Literature  and  Science,  if  our  ener- 
gies in  this  field  of  improvement  were  once  fairly 
roused,  and  happily  applied,  we  might  soon  ven- 
ture on  competition  with  the  most  improved  and 
illustrious  of  our  Sisters.  And,  perhaps,  it  may 
even  be  alleged,  that  our  local  situation,  between 
two  great  States,  and  two  large  Cities; — while  it 
is  certainly  unfriendly  to  the  accumulation  of  capi- 
tal within  our  limits ;  is  yet,  in  some  respects,  fa- 
vourable to  that  kind  of  improvement  of  which  I 
am  speaking.  For,  although  these  local  circum- 
stances will,  undoubtedly,  be  the  means  of  draw- 
ing away  from  us,  from  time  to  time,  much  of 
our  taste  and  talent,  to  supply  the  demand  of  other 
and  more  tempting  markets ;  yet  our  position,  at 
the  same  time,  brings  us  all  within  the  reach  of 
that  enlightening,  warming,  and  vivifying  influence, 


[     20     ] 

which  the  proximity  of  foreign  and  more  power- 
ful luminiaries  is  calculated  to  impart.  Besides 
the  whole  of  our  own  advantages,  we  may  share 
largely  in  those  arising  from  the  great  establish- 
ments of  New-York  and  Pennsylvania. 

And  let  us  not  attempt  to  conceal  from  our- 
selves, my  honoured  Colleagues,  that  New-Jersey 
stands  in  need  of  such  an  impulse  in  literary  and 
scientifick  improvement,  as  that  which  is  now 
urged,  and  which  we  hope  she  is  about  to  receive. 
We  are,  at  present,  far  behind  many  of  our  sis- 
ter States  in  the  propohtion  of  our  educated 
INHABITANTS.  Our  population  is  a  little  greater 
than  that  of  Connecticut.  That  State  is  nearly  on  a 
par  with  ours,  too,  in  having  no  large  cities,  and  few 
cases  of  great  wealth.  Yet  the  number  of  the  sons 
of  Connecticut  who  receive  a  liberal  education,  is 
FOUi;  if  not  six  times  greater  than  those  of 
NEW-JERSEY.  This  ought  not  to  be  so!  And  to 
suppose  that  this  humiliating  fact  is  without  reme- 
dy, is  unjustifiably  to  despair  of  the  Republick. 
A  new  sera — I  will  cherish  the  hope — is  about  to 
arise — nay  has  arisen.  When  I  see  the  ingenu- 
ous Sons  of  Nassau-Hall  engaging  in  a  fraternal 
competition  for  their  mutual  improvement,  and  for 
elevating  the  character  of  their  Alma  Mater,  and 
calling  upon  a  distinguished  Citizen  to  appear, 
this  day,  as  the  Organ  of  their  laudable  sentiments. 


[    21     ] 

1   cannot  but    hail  such   facts  as  tokens  of  good 
things  to  come  equally  decisive  and  gratifying.* 

Suffer  me  now,   Gentlemen,   most  respectfully 
to  suggest  a  thought  or  two  on  some  of  the  ob- 
jects to  which  our  attention,  as  the  "  Literary  and 
Philosophical    Society   of  New-Jersey,"   ought  to 
be  more  particularly  directed.     This  is,   no  doubt, 
a  department  of  inquiry  in  which  there   is  much 
room  for  diversity  of  opinion,  and  concerning  which 
the  peculiar  taste  and  habits  of  each  member  will 
be  apt,   perhaps  in  an  undue  degree,  to  sway  his 
judgement.      You   will  bear  with  me,  however,  I 
am  persuaded,  while  I  offer  a  few  remarks,  which, 
if  they  lead  to  no  other  result,  will,  at  least,  evince 
my  zeal   for  the  honour  of  our  Society,   and  for 
the  welfare  and  improvement  of  the  State  in  which 
it  has  pleased  Providence  to  cast  my  lot. 

'  There  is  a  reference  here  to  a  plan  of  correspondence  and  col 
•peration,  lately  formed  between  the  "  American  Whig,'"  and  "  Cli- 
osophic"  Societies,  of  JS/assau-Hall,  one  article  of  which  is,  that 
"  some  distinguished  honorary  or  graduate  member  of  either  Soci- 
ety, shall  be  appointed  to  deliver  an  Address  before  the  two  Societies 
in  joint  meeting,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  Tuesday 
preceding  the  day  of  Commencement."  The  first  Orator  appointed 
in  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  was  the  Honourable 
Samuel  L.  Southard,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  who,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  this  Dis- 
course was  delivered,  delighted  a  large  audience  with  an  Address,  bb 
rich  and  excellent  in  sentiment,  as  eloquent  in  composition  and  de- 
livery. ' 


/ 


[    22    ] 

Allow  me,  then,  first  of  all,  to  say,  that  the 
great  interests  of  fducation  appear  to  me  to  be 
among  the  most  radical  and  important  to  which 
our  attention  can  be  directed.  Our  State  possesses 
a  large,  and  constantly  accumulating  common- 
scHOOL-FUNo,  which  will  soon  be  set  in  active 
operation,  and  possess,  we  hope,  much  potency. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  wise  system 
be  formed,  by  means  of  which  this  fund  shall  be 
made   to   accomplish,   under   the   Divine  blessing, 

the     LARGEST    POSSIBLE     AMOUNT     OF     BENEFIT    TO 
THE    KISIiNG    GENERATION,  AND    ESPECIALLY  TO  THK 

CHILDREN  OF  THE  POOR.  I  And  although  the  ul- 
timate formation  and  adoption  of  such  a  system 
must  be  the  work  of  an  enlightened  Legislature ; 
yet,  in  most  instances,  when  such  great  plans  are 
well  formed,  by  a  Legislative  body,  they  emanate 
first  of  all  from  wise  private  individuals,  and  are 
generally  the  result  of  the  united  counsels  of  many 
such  individuals.  Who  can  tell  but  that  the  col- 
lected wisdom  of  our  Society  may  contribute  some- 
thing to  the  maturing  of  such  a  plan  ?  Sure  I 
am  it  is  well  worthy  our  profound  attention.  And 
if  but  a  single  hint  of  real  value  to  the  completion 
of  an  object  so  important,  should  be  suggested  by 
us,  we  shall  enjoy  the  delightful  consciousness  of 
being  benefactors  to  the  State,  and  thousands  will 
have  reason  hereafter  to  rise  up  and  cajl  us  bles- 
sed,   l^he   intellectual,   the   moral,  the  political, 


I' 


I     23    1 

and  the  physical  interests  of  New -Jersey,  are  all 
wrapped  up  in  this  mighty  subject.  If  there  be 
any  temporal  concern  worthy  of  our  attention  as 
politicians,  as  philanthropists,  or  as  philosophers, 

it  is  the  GRAND  CONCERxN  OF  ELEMENTARY  PUB- 
LICK    INSTRUCTION. 

To  the  same  general  subject  belongs  another 
consideration,    wiiich  has   been   by  far   too    much 
neglected  in  our   highly  favoured  and  enterprizing 
Country.      I   refer  to  some   plan  by  which   places 
in   our  Colleges  shall  be   made  accessible  to  the 
children  of  the   poor   as  well  as  to   those  of  the 
rich.     There  ought  to  be  in   all  ojir  higher  Insti- 
tutions of   learning,  a   number  of  scholarships, 
for  the   supj)ort  of   such  indigent    young   men   of 
promising  talents,    and   good    moral  character,    as 
have  an   ardent  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  wish  to 
proceed  to  the  more  advanced  grades  of  education. 
To   this  provision,   which   every  enlightened   com- 
munity owes  to   itself,  ought  to  be  added  another, 
-^that  of  fellowships, — after  the  example  of  all 
the  best  foreign  Universities,  on  the  basis  of  which 
a  select  number  of   indigent  students,    who"  have 
gone   through   the  regular  Collegiate  course,    aud 
have  a  taste  and  capacity  for  much  higher  attain- 
ments, may  remain   several  years  longer  engaged 
in   study,    and  thus    become   eminently  fitted    for    ■ 
the  higiiest  and  most  important  trusts  of  Academi- 


[    24    ] 

cal  office.  Establishments  of  this  kind,  which 
shall  give  the  son  of  the  poorest  man  in  the  com- 
munity,— if  he  have  talents  and  virtue, — the  op- 
portunity of  rising  to  the  most  elevated  honours  of 
any  profession  which  he  may  select — and  which 
shall  also  furnish  the  means  of  providing  ripe  and 
thorough  scholars,  to  fill  the  chairs  of  Collegiate 
government  and  instruction,  ought  to  lie  near  the 
heart  of  every  friend  to  sound  learning,  as  well  as 
of  every  enlightened  Statesman}  And  let  me  add, 
this  matter  has  been  so  long  neglected  by  almost 
all  the  Colleges  in  the  United  States,  that  we  can 
scarcely  hope  to  rouse  the  proper  spirit  in  reference 
to  it,  at  once.  It  will  require  the  best  talents  of 
this  community,  firmly,  patiently,  and  unitedly  ap- 
plied, to  effect  the  requisite  impulse.  The  friends 
of  literature  and  science  must  come  together ;  must 
be  made  acquainted  with  each  other  ;  must  inspire 
a  spirit  of  mutual  confidence ;  and  must  learn  with 
unwearied  perseverance  to  co-operate,  before  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  desired  attainment  will 
be  likely  to  be  removed.*     It  will  be  an  honour  to 

*  The  late  Dr.  Elias  Boudinot,  of  our  own  State,  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  exannples  of  American  munificence,  has  bequeathed 
to  the  Trustees  of  the  College  of  JSTew  Jersey,  lands  and  mo- 
ney, for  the  purpose  of  endowing  Fellowships  in  that  Institution, 
which,  it  is  hoped  will,  in  a  short  time,  go  into  operation ;  and  serve., 
at  once,  as  a  stimulus  to  other  Gentlemen  of  wealth  and  public  spi- 
rit lo  g-o  and  do  likewise,  and  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  the  liberality 
of  their  founder. 


r   25   ] 

New  Jersey,  to  take  the  lead  in  supplying  this 
GREATEST  DESIDERATUM — foF  I  veHly  think  it  is 
THE  GUEATEST — in  QUI*  American  Colleges.  Ne- 
ver can  we  hope  for  the  frequent  attainment  of 
that  mature  and  profound  scholarship,  for  which 
the  demand  is  every  day  becoming  more  urgent, 
and  more  (iifficult  to  supply,  but  by  gradually  build- 
ing up  such  a  system  as  that  of  which  I  have  spok- 
en. We  ought  to  feel  this,  and  to  go  to  work  with- 
out an  hour's  delay.  And  if  our  "  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society,"  shall  contribute  to  lay  a 
SINGLE  STONE,  or  drive  a  single  nail  in  such  an 
edifice,  it  will  be  a  benefit  worth  all  the  labour  of 
our  association. 

The  next  object  to  which  I  would  beg  leave  to 
direct  your  attention,  is,  the  Civil  and  Politi- 
cal History  of  ouit  State.  This  object  is  wor- 
thy of  engaging  our  early  and  particular  regard. 
The  work  of  our  respectable  Historian,  Smith*  is 
just  mteresting  and  instructive  enough  to  satify 
every  discerning  reader  that  a  work  far  more  in- 
structive  and    interesting  might  easily  be  formed 

*  The  Author  of  "  The  History  of  the  Colony  of  Nova  Cesa- 
ria,  or  New-Jersey,"  was  Samuel  Smith,  Esquire,  a  respectable 
gentleman,  who  resided  in  the  city  of  Burlins;ton,  in  this  State.  Hie 
work  was  pubhshed  in  that  city,  in  the  year  1765,  in  one  large  octavo 
volume.  It  is  now  entirely  out  of  print,  being  seldom  to  be  met 
with  excepting  in  the  librarie»  of  the  curious. 


[    26    ] 

from  many  rich  materials,  now  possessed,  to  which 
there  is  no  probability  that  the  worthy  Pioneer  in 
our  story,  just  mentioned,  had  any  access.  Yet, 
perhaps,  there  is  no  species  of  composition  which 
requires  the  more  patient  co-operation  of  many 
hands,  in  collecting  materials,  and  in  striking  out 
new  lights,  than  the  Historical ;  especially  when 
thf  history  intended,  is  not  a  mere  compilation 
from  many  narratives  already  published ;  but  an 
original  work,  drawn  from  sources  never  before 
opened  to  the  publick  eye.  We  ought,  undoubt- 
edly, to  have  a  large  shelf  in  our  Depository  for 
every  kind  of  materials  pertaining,  directly  or  re- 
motely, to  this  subject.  It  is  well  ascertained  that 
many  such  materials,  some  of  them  truly  curious, 
and  extremely  valuable,  are  to  be  found  in  different 
parts  of  our  State.  To  search  them  out,  and  bring^ 
them  together,  will  be  an  important  service.  When 
this  is  done,  or  even  partially  accomplished,  we 
shall  probably  not  be  long  whhout  a  zealous  and 
able  hand  to  prepare  them  for  the  publick  eye,  in  a 
form  at  once  gratifying  and  honourable  to  the 
State. 

The  Natural  History  of  our  State,  in  its  va- 
rious branches,  will,  of  course,  claim  your  early  and 
diligent  attentioiv  It  is  of  great  importance  both 
to  Science  and  the  Arts,  that  the  Vegetable,  and 
more  especially  the  Mineral  riches  of  New-Jersey, 


[    -27    ] 

which  are  said  to  be  pre-eminently  abundant, 
should  be  explored,  described,  and  brought  into 
use.  The  bearing  of  such  investigations  on  our 
Agriculture,  our  Commerce,  and  our  most  product- 
ive Manufactures,  is  too  direct  and  important  to 
be  for  a  moment  overlooked.  This  is  really  but 
another  name  for  developing  and  bringing  into  ope- 
ration THE  RESOURCES    OF    THE    STATE.       And  it  bc- 

comes  us  to  recollect  that  our  Natural  History  is 
yet   in   its  infancy.      A   large  number  of  subjects 
pertaining  to  our  Zoology,   and  especially  to  our 
Ornithology,  remain  undescribed  ;  and  with  respect 
to  our  Mineralogy,  we  have  scarcely  entered  on 
the  task  of  exploring  its  ample  domains.     But  how 
are  these   interesting    treasures   to   be    examined  ? 
Not,  certainly,  by  leaving  the  whole  subject  to  take 
care  of  itself  by  casual  discovery,   and   mere  indi- 
vidual effort.     All  the  eyes  and  hands  in  our  State 
ought,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  set  to  work.     Some 
efficient  and  organized  Body,  as  a  centre  of  com- 
munication, and   as  furnishing  a  point  of  deposit, 
is  indis{)ensable.     The  contents  of  every  hill,  and 
valley,  and  river,  and  forest,  and  field  ought  to  be 
carefully  explored.     Discerning    individuals"  ought 
every   where   to    examine;    to   collect  specimens; 
and  to  forward  them,  with  appropriate  descriptions, 
to   the    proper    place  of   accumulation.      Sets   of 
Queries   ought    to    be  prepared,    and  transmitted 
to  every  district  in  the  State.    And,  fiually,  subor- 


[     23     ] 

dinate  Societies,  or  organized  Committees,  ought 
to  be  formed, — especially  in  particular  neighbour- 
hoods,— for  conducting  inquiries  to  which  an  indi- 
vidual may  not  be  adequate :  that  thus  every  spe- 
cies and  scrap  of  information,  however  minute, 
which  can  interest  the  man  of  science  or  the 
statesman,  may  be  collected  and  laid  up  for  use. 

Again  ;  the  great  interests  of  Agriculture  and 
HoKTicuLTUuE  will  also  demand  an  appropriate 
share  of  our  attention.  The  connection  of  these 
subjects  with  publick  prosperity  and  improvement, 
and  with  personal  and  domestick  Comfort,  is  now 
so  well  known,  and  so  generally  acknowledged, 
that  all  attempts  to  array  proof  of  the  fact  are  en- 
tirely unnecessary.  He  who  can  make  two  tons  of 
grass,  or  two  bushels  of  wheat,  grow  on  the  same 
ground  that  produced  only  one  before,  and  at  a 
cheaper  rate  too ;  or  he  who  can  tell  us  how  to  rear 
double  the  quantity  of  much  finer  fruit,  with  less 
trouble  and  expense  than  formerly,  is  surely  a 
public  benefactor.  Yet  it  is  manifest  that  the  im- 
provement of  these  branches  of  science  and  art, 
depends  very  much  on  social  union  and  effort.  In- 
deed, without  such  union  and  effort,  little  progress 
in  this  kind  of  improvement  can  be  expected.  Be- 
fore the  best  methods  of  culture  can  be  ascertained, 
many  experiments,  in  many  different  circumstances, 
must  be  made, — on  different  kinds  of  manures  ;  on 


[    29    ] 

the  rotation  of  crops;  on  the  most  effectual  means 
of  propagating  the  best  fruits ;  of  defending  them 
from  the  ravages  of  their  various  assailants ;  and 
of  maturing  and  preserving  them  for  use.  We  all 
know,  that  in  almost  every  part  of  the  civilized 
world  distinct  associations  have  been  formed  for 
discovery  and  improvement  on  all  these  subjects ; 
and  that  they  have  been  uniformly  patronized  by 
men  most  illustrious  both  for  rank  and  science. 
Indeed  in  our  own  State,  if  I  am  correctly  in- 
formed, more  than  one  Agricultural  Society  al- 
ready exist.  But  do  we  not  still  need  an  efficient 
central  body,  which  shall  exert  an  influence  over 
the  whole  State  ;  which  shall  concentrate  the  new 
lights  which  may  be  at  any  time  shed  on  the  sub- 
jects in  question;  and  ^^hich  shall  furnish  the 
means  of  conveying  to  the  publick  at  large  re- 
sults of  experiments  now  confined  to  members  com- 
posing the  society  of  a  small  district  ? 

In  all  the  departments  of  Astronomy,  Natural 
and  Experimental  Philosophy,  and  Chemistry, 
a  "  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,"  will,  of 
course,  feel  itself  called  upon  to  inquire,  and  to 
labour  with  unwearied  assiduity.  These  have  ever 
been  considered,  in  all  countries,  as  among  the  most 
appropriate  objects  of  culture  by  such  Associations 
as  that  which  is  now  assembled.  But,  may  it  not 
be   said,   that,    within   the  last    fifty  years,   these 


[     30     ]. 

brandies  of  science  have  assumed  an  aspect  of  far 
more  practical  importance  than  ever  before  ?  Is 
not  the  close  connection  which  Experimental  Phi- 
losophy and  Chemistry  have  established  with  Agri- 
culture and  Gardening;  with  many  of  the  most 
important  of  the  mechanick  arts;  and  more  espe- 
cially with  Medicine — such  as  to  present  them  in 
a  most  interesting  light  to  every  friend  of  human 
comfort  and  improvement?  The  representation  of 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy  on  this  subject,  particularly 
with  regard  to  Agriculture,  is  extremely  impress- 
ive :  and  with  respect  to  the  importance  of  the  sci- 
ence of  Chemistry  to  the  Healing  Art, — "  I  do  not 
hesitate" — said  the  celebrated  Foiircroy,  a  few  years 
ago — "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce,  that  modern 
Chemistry  has  done  more,  in  twenty  years,  for 
Medicine,  than  the  united  labours  of  all  preceding 
ages." 

Further;  tlie  culdvation  of  Legal  and  Poli- 
tical SciENCi:  forms  another  important  object  in 
the  arrangement  of  our  plan.  And  by  Legal  and 
Political  Science  i  mean,  not  those  petty  principles 
of  litigation,  which  are  adapted  to  the  narrow  views 
of  the  mere  special  pleader;  or  those  elements  of 
feud  and  conflict — those  miserable  compromises  of 
selfishness  and  ambition,  which  enter  into  the  still 
more  sordid  aims  of  the  party  politician.  But  I 
Diean  that  noble  field  of  inquiry,  which  opens  the 


[    31     ] 

way  to  free  and  learned  discussions  on  the  great 
principles  of  government;  on  the  pure  adminis- 
tration of  justice ;  and  on  all  the  immensely  im- 
portant doctrines  of  Political  Economy,  in  their 
widest  range.  I  mean,  in  short,  a  branch  of  that 
great  Science,  of  which  the  learned  Author  of  the 
"  Ecclesiastical  Polity"  speaks  with  equal  elo- 
quence and  justice,  when  he  says,  treating  of  it 
in  its  largest  sense — "  Of  Law  there  can  be  no 
less  acknowledged,  than  that  her  seat  is  the  bosom 
of  Gody  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the  world  :  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage ;  the 
very  least,  as  feeling  her  care,  and  the  greatest  as 
not  exempted  from  her  power :  both  angels  and 
men,  and  creatures  of  what  condition  soever,  though 
each  in  different  sort  and  manner,  yet  all  with  uni- 
form consent,  admiring  her  as  the  mother  of  all 
their  peace  and  joy."*  Much  as  has  been  given 
to  the  world  on  these  great  subjects,  no  thinking 
man  can  entertain  the  opinion  that  further  and 
deeper  inquiry  is  not  desirable.  One  part,  indeed, 
of  the  general  science  in  question, — that  of  Poli- 
tical Economy, — is  supposed  by  many  to  be  still 
in  its  infancy.  If  so,  and  surely  there  is  no  ^mall 
reason  for  entertaining  such  an  opinion  ;  then  there 
is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States^  in  any  walk 

*  EccUs.  Polilij,  BooJv  I.  Sect,  16. 


[      32    j 

q{  life,  who  has  not  an  interest  in  all   those  in- 
quiries which  tend  to  promote  its  elucidation. 

On  the  remaining  departments  of  knowledge 
embraced  in  our  plan,  I  shall  not  now  dwell ;  not 
because  they  are  less  worthy  of  culture  than  those 
which  have  been  mentioned ;  but  because  their 
importance  is  so  obvious  and  unquestionable,  that 
all  proof,  or  even  illustration  of  it,  is  superfluous. 
In  Theological  and  Moral  Science,  every  hu- 
man being  who  regards  either  his  own  duty  and 
happiness,  or  those  of  others,  has  an  interest  which 
no  arithmetic  can  estimate.  In  Medicine,  and 
the  auxiliary  branches  of  knowledge,  every  one 
who  has  a  life  to  preserve,  and  health  to  cherish, 
must  recognize  one  of  the  most  precious  treasures 
committed  to  man ;  a  treasure  to  the  improvement 
of  which,  selfishness  and  benevolence  equally  call 
upon  us  to  contribute.  And,  to  mention  but  one 
department  more,  the  cultivation  of  Philology 
and  Belles  Lettres,  while  it  ministers  to  all 
the  refinements  o*  national  literature,  has  a  bear- 
ing, more  or  less  direct,  on  all  the  interests  of 
philosophy ;  and  is  more  closely  connected  with 
precision  and  with  every  habit  of  thought,  with 
the  whole  system  of  publick  instruction,  and  with 
the  general  improvement  of  man,  than  is  com- 
monly imagined.     The  individual,  or  the  society, 


£    33    ] 

tb«n,  which  shall  contribute  the  smallest  mite, 
either  to  the  culture  or  the  dirfusion  of  any  of 
these  branches  of  knowledge,  is  engaged  in  a  work 
of  deep  and  universal  interest. 

I  have  repeatedly  adverted,  in  the  foregoing  re- 
marks, to  the  great  advantages  resulting  to  nations 
from  their  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  That 
these  advantages  are  not  only  real,  but  immense,  is 
matter  of  unquestionable  fact,  which  the  history  of 
all  ages  has  established,  but  of  which  the  history  of 
the  last  half  century,  has  afforded  an  illustration 
truly  wonderful.  Of  these  advantages,  Great  Bri- 
tain has  furnished  the  most  signal  example.  And 
the  distinctness  with  which,  amidst  other  causes, 
they  may  be  traced  to  her  progress  in  Philosophy 
.T,nd  the  liberal  Arts,  is  too  plain  to  be  controverted. 
Within  a  little  more  than  the  period  to  which  I  have 
alluded,  her  improvements  in  Agriculture,  and,  con- 
sequently, in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil,  have  been  almost  beyond  estimate. 
In  consequence  of  this  increase  of  the  means  of 
subsistence,  her  population  has  nearly  doubled. 
Her  inventions  of  machinery  for  saving  labour,  and 
of  new  processes  for  expediting  and  improving  ma- 
nufactures, have  been  equivalent  to  the  addition  of 
several  millions  more  lo  the  number  of  her  people. 
The  rents  and  profits  of  estates  have  had  a  corres- 
ponding augmentation.     New  and  astonishing  sour- 


L    34    ] 

CCS  of  wealth,  both  within  and  without  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  have  been  opened.  The  comforts, 
and  even  elegancies  of  life  have  been  brought  within 
the  reach  of  multitudes  who  could  not  enjoy  them 
before.  The  wealthy  have  been  far  more  conve- 
niently and  comfortably  acconmiodated,  for  *he 
same  expense,  than  formerly.  The  lower  classes 
have  been  better  rewarded  for  their  labour,  and,  of 
course,  better  fed,  better  clothed,  and  in  every  re- 
spect better  situated  than  in  any  preceding  times. 
The  national  exports  have  increased  in  the  aggre- 
gate, within  the  period  in  question,  at  least  four- 
fold, many  of  them  fifty-fold ;  and  the  national  in- 
come has  advanced  to  an  extent  once  considered  as 
altogether  incredible.  In  short,  the  progress  of  that 
wonderful  country,  since  the  principles  of  science 
and  art  have  become  popular  in  their  culture  and 
application — her  progress  in  wealth,  in  refinement, 
in  comfort  of  living,  in  power,  and  in  all  the  means 
of  national  elevation,  has  been  the  theme  of  wonder 
and  eulogium  with  all  who  have  understood,  from 
authentick  recort  s,  her  situation  sixty  or  seventy 
years  ago,  and  who  have  been  permitted  to  witness 
her  present  condition. 

I  need  not  say,  that  in  the  same  career  of  im- 
provement, we,  her  children,  have  made  rapid 
strides;  and  that,  next  to  the  culture  of  the  Re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ, — the   surest  source  of  haj)- 


[    35    ] 

piness  to  any  people, — we  cannot  give  a  more  cer- 
tain pledge  of  our  future  happy  progress  in  the 
same  course,  than  by  entering  heartily  into  the  work 
of  endeavouring  to  render  every  species  of  liberal 
and  useful  knowledge,  as  universal  as  possible. 

Such,  my  respected  Associates,  is  the  wide  and 
fruitful  field  in  which  we  have  agreed  to  labour. 
That  there  is  more  than  enough  here  to  occupy 
all  the  talents,  the  industry,  and  the  energy  which 
we  can  employ,  is  certain :  and  that  such  labours, 
when  wisely  and  successfully  pursued,  will  be 
found  conducive  to  the  best  interests,  not  only  of 
our  State,  but  also  of  our  common  country,  and 
of  mankind,  no  one  can  doubt,  who  has  been  ac- 
customed to  take  any  other  than  the  narrowest 
view  of  human  affairs.  Whether  we  shall  pur- 
sue them  with  ardour,  zeal,  and  great  benefit,  and 
thus  render  our  Society  a  publick  blessing; — or 
with  feeble  and  interrupted  steps,  which  can  only 
amuse  and  delude  with  abortive  hopes ; — must 
depend,  under  Providence,  upo )  ourselves.  If 
we  are  prepared  to  pledge  ourselves  to  one  an- 
other and  to  the  publick,  to  unite  heart  and  hand 
in  the  noble  labour  of  benefitting  our  State — bene- 
fitting our  species — and  will  faithfully  redeem  the 
pledge  ;  then  shall  we  have  reason  to  think  of 
the  transactions  of  this  day  with  pleasure  as  long 
as  we  live. 


[    36    J 

Many,  I  know,  are  ready  to  turn  such  Societies 
as  that  which  is  now  assembled  into  ridicule,  be" 
cause  too  much  is  sometimes  proposed,  and  too 
much  expected.  Dr.  Johnson  remarks,  in  one  of 
the  papers  of  the  "  Idler,"  that  when  the  "  Royal 
Society"  of  England  was  founded,  "  great  expect- 
ations were  raised  of  the  sudden  progress  of  use- 
ful arts.  The  time  w*as  supposed  to  be  near  when 
engines  would  be  turned  by  ar  perpetual  motion, 
and  health  be  secui'ed  by  the  universal  medicine ; 
when  learning  should  be  facilitated  by  a  real  char- 
acter, and  commerce  extended  by  ships- which  could 
reach  their  ports  in  defiance  of  the  tempest.  But 
improvement,  adds  the  great  moralist^  is^  naturally 
slow.  The  Society  met  and  separated  without  any 
visible  diminution  of  the  miseries  of  life.  The 
gout  and  stone  were  still  painful ;  the  ground  that 
was  not  ploughed  brought  no  harvest ;  and  neither 
oranges  nor  grapes  would  grow  upon  the  hawthorn. 
At  last,  those  who  were  disappointed  began  to  be 
angry  ;  those,  likewise,  who  hated  innovation,  were 
glad  to  gain  an  ('nportunity  of  ridiculing  men  who 
had  depreciated,  perhaps  with  too  much  arrogance, 
the  knowledge  of  antiquity.  And  it  appears,  from 
some  of  their  earliest  apologies,  that  the  philoso- 
phers felt  with  great  sensibility,  the  unwelcome  im- 
portunities of  those  who  were  daily  asking,  "  What 
have  ye  done  ?"* 

*  Idhry  No.  88. 


[    37    J 

Those  wlio  enter  with  zeal  into  the  labours  o( 
our  Association,  must  expect  such  taunts  as  these. 
But  let  us  be  prepared  to  meet,  and  willing  to  bear 
them,  and  hold  on  our  way  with  unwearied  per- 
severance. We  ought  not  to  make  too  much  haste 
to  be  scientifick,  any  more  than  too  much  "  haste 
to  be  rich."  Here  patient  toil  must  be  our 
motto.  No  one  ever  passed  a  steep  and  craggy 
mountain  at  a  single  leap.  He  only  is  fitted  for 
the  arduous  enterprize,  who  is  willing  to  take  the 
time,  and  undergo  the  labour  necessary  for  many 
a  difficult,  slow,  and  cautious  step,  and  who  is  not 
impatient  of  the  progress  of  things  in  their  regu- 
lar course.  We  are  associated  for  the  purpose  of 
attempting,  in  company,  to  scale  a  lofty  mountain  ; — 
a  mountain  lofty  enough,  and  craggy  enough  to  put 
in  requisition  all  our  energy  and  all  our  patience^ 
For  let  it  be  remembered  that  in  this  fallen  worlds 
every  endeavour  to  promote  the  real  welfare  of 
man  is  up-hill  work,  from  the  smallest  effort  of 
benevolence,  to  the  most  glorious  and  stupendous 
atchievement  of  love  that  evei  pngaged  the  coun- 
sels of  the  Almighty. 

Let  none  indulge  the  ignoble  fear,  that  the 
progress  of  science — I  mean  of  real  science — will 
be  dangerous ;  that  it  will  endanger  any  of  the 
true  interests  of  man ;  and  least  of  all,  that  it  will 
endanger    the  interests  of    true   Religion.      That 


^- 


i?:  38    ] 

.  "  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion,"  is  a  "  doc- 
Mrine  of  devils,"  and  as  stupid  as  it  is  diabohcal 
The  time,  we  trust,  is  forever  gone  by,  when  such 
fears  are  to  be  indulged,  or  such  a  doctrine  tole- 
rated. I  have  no  doubt  that  the  memorable  sav- 
ing  of  Lord  Bacon  is,  emphatically,  a  truth — that 
"Philosophy,  when  studied  superficially,  leads  to 
unbelief  and  atheism  ;  but  when  profoundly  un- 
derstood, is  SURE  TO  PRODUCE  VENERATION  FOR 
GOD,    AND    TO    RENDER    FAITH    IN    HIM    THE    RULING 

PRINCIPLE  OF  OUR  LIFE."  It  is  truc,  indeed,  that  .?..r*:< 
some  presumptuous  claimants  of  the  name  of  Phi- 
losopher, in  the  eighteenth  century,  attempted  to 
extend  the  principles  of  that  illustrious  Father  of 
Experimental  Philosopliy,  to  a  length  equally  dan- 
gerous and  insane  : — to  a  length  which  would  have 
accounted  for  all  the  phenomena  of  motion,  life, 
and  mind,  on  the  principles  of  the  material  system 
alone ;  and,  of  course,  would  have  banished  the 
Creator  from  his  own  world.  But  this  daring  per- 
version was  infinitely  remote  from  the  spirit  of 
Bacon.  Whateverl  >iay  be  said  of  his  personal 
failings,  HIS  system  had,  surely,  as  much  piety 
AS  genius  ;  and  if  his  professed  followers  are  not 
at  least  speculative  Christians,  it  is  because  they 
have  deserted  their  Master. 

To  a  co-operation,  then,   in  this  sober,  patient, 
practical  course,  we  respectfully  invite  our  fellow- 


[    39    J 

citizens.  To  our  friends,  of  every  taste  and  pur- 
suit, who  love  k.nowlod;5e,  and  who  desire  to  pro- 
mote their  own  rational  enjoyment,  and  the  benefit 
of  mankind,  by  extending  and  applying  knowledge, 
we  would  say — "  Come  with  us  !  Here  you  may 
find  ample  employment,  and  rich  remuneration. 
Here  every  one  may  aid,  and  be  aided  in  his  turn. 
Here  the  suggestion  of  a  useful  thought ;  the  con- 
tribution of  the  humblest  specimen  of  nature  or 
art,  that  you  may  find  in  your  path  ;  the  recording 
and  transmitting  a  single  remarkable  fact ;  and  even 
a  smile  of  encouragement  in  our  labours,  will  be 
acknowledged  as  a  favour  to  the  cause  of  human 
improvement,  and  will  meet,  we  doubt  not,  its  ap- 
propriate reward." 


■*^46At 


